Cognitive linguists agreed long ago that metaphors are everywhere. We see them when we read the latest Stephen King book, when we admire a new Knorr advertisement while waiting for a bus, or simply when we listen to a new episode of our favourite true-crime podcast. Metaphors are also in gesture. When saying “keep a secret”, you might hold both hands close together to indicate a secret-as-object being kept and obscured from view. On closer inspection, we can see that these hand movements are not random: they systematically correspond to the way we think and talk about secrecy in English. We can reveal a secret, hold a secret, or, indeed, keep a secret, both in language and in gesture.

In this talk, it will be argued that gestures are an integral part of the meaning-making process in coming-out narratives: narratives in which people either disclose their sexual and/or gender non-normativity, or retell such events. By treating gesture as a crucial part of communication and cognition in these contexts, we enter the area of Queer Cognitive Linguistics, and we are well positioned to ask: what kinds of metaphorical patterns emerge in coming-out narratives, and how do they surface in gesture?

The lecture will be held in English.

Date: 17 April 2026
Time: 9:45–11:15 am
Venue: Dobra 55, Z520 (Floor -1)